Album Reviews: Nine Gems You've Probably Never Heard Of

CDs from would-be stars are
starting to pile up on my desk again, which means it’s time for spring
cleaning. Let’s skip the discs I’m discarding and focus on some keepers from
relatively little-known acts:

Big Sky Country, Sofia Talvik. Talvik’s angelic voice and
folk pop fusion remind me of the Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler and also of the early
Marianne Faithfull. She first caught my attention with “A Long Way Home,” an
addictive single with a lyric about coming home for
Christmas that incorporates a sad surprise ending. You’ll discover more such
gems on this program of originals (with the exception of Buffy St. Marie’s
“Starwalker”), which reflects the Swedish singer’s adventures during a
37-state, 16-month U.S. tour. The title cut, for example, finds her raving
about the Blue Ridge Mountains, San Francisco and Texas while proclaiming that
nothing compares to the big-sky country of Idaho. If you agree with my
assessment that the album is consistently strong, you’ll want to move on to Drivin’ & Dreaming, a fine live set
from 2013, and The Owls Are Not What They
Seem, an equally seductive 2012 studio collection.

The Faster It Goes, the Railsplitters.
The genre-bending Railsplitters offer a built-to-last follow-up to their debut,
which garnered high praise from these quarters. The quintet’s music remains
steeped in bluegrass but weaves in elements of jazz, folk and pop. Chief
strengths include the songwriting talent of banjo player Dusty Rider, the
live-in-the-studio-sounding production and vocalist Lauren Stovall, whose work on
songs like “Seasons” and “Tell Me” conveys vulnerability and passion.

Midnight Mist, Voo Davis.
There’s rarely a dull moment on this third CD from the Chicago-based Davis,
which weds his soulful vocals to crackerjack Southern-rock slide-guitar work.
On the best tracks here, it almost sounds as if Otis Redding has met up with
the Allman Brothers.

Silver Line, Chuck Hawthorne.
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut album or that Hawthorne—who appears
to be in his 40s—lived as long as he did without making a record. He finally entered
a studio only because he ran into blues singer-songwriter Ray Bonneville in an
airport. The two talked about music and Bonneville asked Hawthorne to email him
a few songs. Bonneville listened and replied that it was time to “discuss your
record.” This Bonneville-produced, country folk outing is the result, and it’s a
winner. Hawthorne’s rich vocals are front-and-center throughout, and story
songs like the title cut, “Rough Luck” and “Leaving Amarillo (the latter
featuring folksinger Eliza Gilkyson) sound like instant classics.

Starlight Highway, Corinne
West. The title track on this self-produced latest CD from California-based
singer-songwriter Corinne West is uptempo, but the bulk of the program is as laid back
as anything in the Nick Drake catalog. West’s songs are lilting and dreamy and
her intimate, country-flavored folk performances seem to float through the air
like feathers.

Pulling Your Sword Out of the
Devil’s Back, Brock Zeman. This is the 11th album from Ontario,
Canada-based Zeman, whose inventive, evocative lyrics sometimes prove as quirky
as this CD’s title. His gravelly vocals evoke a cross between Tom Waits and Dr.
John. On songs like “Don’t Think About You Anymore,” he combines strong
melodies with lines that sound as personal as diary entries.

True & Blue, Hans Theessink
& Terry Evans. Mississippi-based Terry Evans teams with veteran
bluesman Hans Theessink for a live acoustic concert in Vienna, Austria, the
latter’s home turf. Both are superb guitarists and soulful vocalists with roots
in Delta blues. The diverse program here includes a reading of Chuck Berry’s
“Maybellene” that incorporates an arresting guitar solo; and a warm, bouncy
version of Lead Belly’s classic “Bourgeois Blues” with infectious
call-and-response vocals.

Elevator Man, Scott Ellison. Blues
imbue the 13 tracks on this disc, but there’s also enough rock and roll
influence so that you won’t be surprised to learn that vocalist and guitarist Ellison
has worked with 1960s acts like the Box Tops, the Coasters, and the Shirelles. His
sandpapery vocals are compelling but his consummate instrumental work is what
had me coming back for more.

The Earnest Lovers Sing Sad Songs, the Earnest Lovers. This
six-song, 21-minute EP introduces Pete Krebs and Leslie Beia, a duo with roots
in country and branches in the folk world. The sprightly music recalls the
Bakersfield sound (Buck Owens et. al) but also the harmonies of contemporary folk pop acts like the Kennedys. Beia is a particularly strong vocalist and the
album’s polish belies the fact that it was recorded “almost entirely live” in
just three days.

Jeff Burger (byjeffburger.com), a longtime magazine editor, has written about music, politics, and popular culture for more than 75 periodicals. His books include Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon as well as Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches and Encounters and Leonard Cohen…